September 11, 2009

Fall architecture preview: Tall towers at center stage as the 'Year of Big' goes on

The “Year of Big” goes on. But this fall, the focus won’t be on the 100th anniversary of Daniel Burnham’s grand plans for Chicago. It will be on big skyscrapers—very big skyscrapers. Are they good or just big? We’ll see, as the some of last giants of the prerecession building boom come on line.

1. Burj Dubai--The biggest of them all, the Burj Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (left), is expected to open late this year, though the developer, Emaar Properties, won’t say when. The mixed-use Burj Dubai, roughly 160 stories and 2,600 feet tall, is already the world’s tallest building. The glass-sheathed, setback tower was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill of Chicago. Adrian Smith, the chief designer, now heads his own firm.2. Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago--Donald Trump’s 92-story riverfront residential tower in the 400 block of North Wabash Avenue is the tallest American high-rise since Sears Tower’s completion in 1974. Its architects also designed the Burj Dubai. The last significant portions of the project, its public river walk and plaza, are likely to be complete around Sept. 30, according to Paul James, senior vice president of technical services for the contractor, Bovis Lend Lease.3. Aqua--With its undulating concrete balconies, this 82-story residential high-rise in the 200 block of North Columbus Drive is among the most arresting new forms on Chicago’s skyline. Designed by Jeanne Gang of Chicago’s Studio Gang Architects, Aqua is thought to be the tallest skyscraper in the world designed by a woman. Its exterior is due to wrap up around November 1, according to the project’s developer Jim Loewenberg.

4. 108 N. State St.--Finally filling the long-empty Block 37 bounded by State, Randolph, Washington and Dearborn Streets, the retail podium of this mixed-use development will get it first tenants this fall, probably in November. The podium, designed by the Chicago office of Gensler, will include an atrium that links to the downtown pedway system. Completion is expected by spring 2010.5. A Chicago Olympics?--Much more than a chance to host thousands of athletes will be at stake Oct. 2 when the International Olympic Committee selects the host city for the 2016 Summer Games. If Chicago beats competitors Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, a massive urban transformation will begin, beginning with the conversion of the former Michael Reese Hospital campus into an Olympic Village (left). If Chicago loses? The hospital campus is still likely to be redeveloped as housing. Either way, preservationists will fight to save campus buildings co-designed by Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius.  6. Fortaleza Hall--In the core of the SC Johnson campus in Racine, Wis., with its Administration Building and Research Tower by Frank Lloyd Wright, London architect Norman Foster has designed the hall as a gallery for artifacts, including a replica of an amphibious airplane that the late H.F. Johnson Jr. flew to Brazil in 1935 in search of a sustainable source of wax. The plane will be suspended beneath the hall’s elliptical skylight (left). The hall is scheduled to open in early 2010.7. 155 N. Wacker Drive--This 48-story office tower is the third Wacker Drive skyscraper by Chicago architect Jim Goettsch of Goettsch Partners. Like its predecessors, the UBS Tower and 111 S. Wacker, 155 N. Wacker makes its big statement at ground-level. Its lobby is enclosed by a highlytransparent, cable-supported glass wall and topped by dramatically sloping ceilings. A park to the tower’s east will be completed early next year.8. Streeter Place--The 54-story Streeter Place, a gently-curving rental apartment tower at 355 E. Ontario St., joins a 50-story rental high-rise, The Streeter, to complete a two-building development that wraps around a small, mid-block open space. The pair, partly sheathed in aluminum, was designed by Chicago architects Solomon Cordwell Buenz. Completion is due in December. 9. 353 N. Clark St.--Chicago architects Lohan Anderson designed this 44-story office tower, a quiet, rectilinear high-rise with generous expanses of energy-efficient glass. The project is expected to be finished by the end of October, according to architect Dirk Lohan, with tenants moving in by year’s end.  10. Lectures and programs--The Chicago Architecture Foundation will offer its usual range of top-notch events. Here’s one that caught my eye: an Oct. 28 panel at the foundation, “Lake Point Tower: Back-story of an Icon.” Among the participants: George Schipporeit, the tower’s co-designer, and IIT architectural historian Kevin Harrington, co-author with Edward Windhorst of a new book, “Lake Point Tower: A Design History.” (At left, window washers put some sheen on the undulating skyscraper.)

11. Chicago architect John Ronan has designed a new private college prep high school for about 600 students in the city's Austin neighborhood. Called Christ the King Jesuit College Preparatory School, the three-story, L-shaped building joins with an existing Jesuit middle school to form a courtyard on its West Side site. The school will house facilities including a chapel, library and gymnasium. Completion is expected in late fall.

12. The Chicago Botanic Garden on Sept. 21 will open the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center. The center will allow visitors to the Garden to get an up-close view of plant science research. The architects for the building, which houses laboratories, seminar rooms, a plant science library and a seed banking facility, are Booth Hansen of Chicago. They have designed a bridge leading to the center. Its interior features include a two-story atrium. The building is expected to be the Garden’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified structure.

(Photos by Ali Haider and Chicago Tribune; rendering from Web site of Racine Post)

Is Trump going to light the spire? The building has no presence at night! It just disappears. It's very unfortunate for a skyscraper of that magnitude to have such a pathetic presence on the skyline, especially at night when the city comes alive!

BK: Trump told me last year that he planned to light the spire. We'll see if he makes good on his promise.

This tall tower Burj Khalifah is in fact the crown of Dubai and it is helping Dubai to again attract the focus of attention of tourists from all over the world. This architectural piece really fascinates me each time I see it.

There is one more exciting news about Burj Khalifah have been lowered due to real estate crisis in Dubai and in order to attract more and more people to Dubai and rent apartments and offices and this is surely a BIG and Good news.